


North American Candy Bar Tasting

by inlovewithfictionalcharacters



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: F/M, Multi, Post-The Raven King, Pynch mention, Road Trip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-26
Updated: 2016-04-26
Packaged: 2018-06-04 14:50:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6663127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inlovewithfictionalcharacters/pseuds/inlovewithfictionalcharacters
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>SPOILERS FOR THE RAVEN KING - Do not read this unless you have finished the book</p><p>----</p><p>A road trip goes as planned until it doesn't.</p>
            </blockquote>





	North American Candy Bar Tasting

**Author's Note:**

> We all crave that Sarchengsey, don't we?

They stopped at a Red Roof Inn for the night. Blue insisted on motels when they were on the road or just stopping in small cities. They had compromised that Henry and Gansey would pay for one room with two beds at a hotel when they were in bigger cities. At the motel they all split the cost of the room.

Blue had enough money saved up for the trip from working at Nino's and, thanks to her car not needing gas, she was pretty positive it would last her the entire trip.

Since Gansey's car had been abandoned by him, it broke down even more often like it was getting revenge on them. But usually the three of them didn't mind because it gave them a chance to meet the locals. These people were usually charmed by Gansey, confused by Blue and charmingly insulted in a confusing manner by Henry.

They never told people how exactly they all related to each other because saying “We've kind of been in a relationship for a while but only recently got physical and this is our friend who travels with us” sounded not quiet right and they hadn't really figured everything out themselves yet.

It had been a long day of driving through New Hampshire when the Pig had actually broken down. Now that they didn't have Adam anymore, Gansey had to have the car towed and paid the mechanic extra to fix it until morning. Blue scoffed at this casual display of money but it was Gansey's car and she didn't want to lose a day in the middle of nowhere either.

So Gansey, Blue and Henry were all piled into Blue's car. Henry had called shotgun for eternity at the beginning of the trip because he liked driving with Blue more. He had actually gotten them walkie talkies at the first gas station they visited so they could communicate while they were in two different cars. The two identical cars driving behind each other must have looked weird to anyone they passed, but they didn't care.

Usually, Blue and Gansey drove and Henry made increasingly manic small talk with Gansey via the walkie talkie. Blue would almost call it flirting when Henry called Gansey “Richardman” and teased him about his driving. Blue would, however, describe her driving style as a lot more offensive than Gansey's. She took a little bit of pride in the fact that Henry prefered to ride with her, although, maybe he just liked the fact that her car actually functioned.

But through the Pig breaking down they had met an increasing number of weird and interesting people while waiting for a mechanic. Once it had broken down near a shop at the side of the road that sold nothing but creepy dolls that the owner apparently hand made. Henry kept insisting that they were voodoo dolls and picked two that he said reminded him of Ronan and Adam. He then had them shipped overnight to the Barns.

Blue couldn't really see the resemblance and she also told Henry that voodoo dolls were nonsense. Especially if said voodoo dolls were made by little old ladies living in New England and had adorable if slightly wonky seashell hats.

But Henry was Henry and thus acquired many odds and ends during their trip. Occasionally, they would all take a picture in front of whatever roadside attraction Henry swore was a national landmark. He would beg them to make a stop and later they would print the picture as a postcard to send home to their families. Blue's favorite was the one of the three of them in front of a huge Paul Bunyan Statue that they had barely been able to get into the frame with them. Thank god Henry hadn't actually gone so far as to buy a selfie stick for these pictures.

They had sent the Paul Bunyan picture to Ronan and Adam with the caption “Ronan's future as an Irish farmer”. They all thought of them as Ronan and Adam now. They knew that Adam had basically moved in at the Barns for the last few weeks before he started college even though Adam would never admit it.

Whenever they sent anything there, it would always be Adam who would call, but usually they could hear Ronan in the background interjecting with a comment, so it was almost like they talked with him as well. When Henry had sent the dolls, Adam had told them that he'd make sure Ronan would have them on display when Adam was away so he'd have Adam nearby.

He had meant it as a joke, but it had sounded too genuine for that. Blue knew the two of them worried in their own ways about how their relationship would survive the distance but despite not being the slightest bit psychic she had a good feeling about their future. It was obvious how Ronan felt, as it had been for a long time, and Adam seemed more settled now. They seemed to balance each other out, like their friendship had just naturally transitioned into a relationship.

Blue had had a talk with Ronan before Henry, Gansey and her had taken off and warned him about hurting Adam. Ronan had looked at her like the thought would have never occurred to him and Blue had realized that Adam was just as likely to break Ronan's heart. But that was a risk one took when entering a relationship. After that Ronan had told her to treat Gansey kindly, especially because they were now allowed to kiss since Gansey was still still a gentleman with “delicate sensibilities”.

Blue figured that Ronan was half-joking about that, but she didn't want to overwhelm Gansey anyway. This was as much new to her as it was to him. Still after her realization, she had a long talk with Adam about their past and also about Ronan. Even if neither Blue nor Ronan admitted it, they were similar, so Blue thought it was only fair that she would also tell Adam to treat Ronan kindly. He had been through so much and needed a steady presence in his life. Adam told her that Gansey had already given him that talk, so she hugged him and told him not to forget about it when they were all gone.

Before they had left, they had had one last toga party at Henry's place. It was so Henry could say goodbye to his friends, but also to bring Gansey's whole group together once more before they were broken up for several months. They all thought of the group as Gansey's because he was such a focal point for all of them. Blue didn't want to imagine how they would have dealt with his loss. This adventurous, stupid, rich boy that she loved so much and that brought so much life to every room he entered. It was impossible to imagine him dead.

When they started their journey, Blue swore to leave all of that behind. They would have their great adventure and it would be better than finding an alive Glendower could have ever been. Henry added a new exciting element to their whole dynamic and he should have been a third wheel but instead fitted seamlessly into their relationship. It was never awkward when Blue and Gansey kissed or slept in the same bed wherever they stayed.

Gansey climbed slowly out of the backseat of the car when they arrived. It was always a struggle. Henry smugly excited at the passenger side and Blue got out as well. They booked a room and soon found themselves in a motel room like all the others they had visited previously.

Henry flung his bag on the floor and then flung himself on the bed closest to the door.

“What a day! What a grand adventure! I am absolutely exhausted.”

Blue smiled and stood at the side of the bed to look down on Henry. As a rather small person, she enjoyed the opportunity to look down on someone.

She lightly punched his arm.

“I was the one who did all the driving. And we didn't even do anything but drive today. What are you exhausted from? Messing with my car radio and playing restaurant race with Gansey over the walkie talkie?”

Henry curled away from her and did his best impression of someone fatally wounded. He clutched his arm.

“Ah Ms. Sargent thou has slain me. I surrender. Please stop.”

Blue reached out to shove at his shoulder but Henry was faster than her and pulled her forward so she landed awkwardly sprawled on top of him on the bed. Gansey meanwhile had come in and was carrying both his and Blue's bag since she had dropped it when she went over to Henry.

He smiled down at the two of them play wrestling until they finally lay side by side on the bed both out of breathing and huffing out laughter.

“Are we going to need an adult for this situation?” Gansey inquired as he set the bags down.

“Where do you propose we find one? We're just three runaway teenagers robbing banks for a living.” Blue said giggling.

Gansey went with her story and nodded. “Ah yes the life of teenage criminals. Always on the run and in the evening we put up at a hotel so fancy they cut our steaks for us. And after that we go to sleep on a pile of money.”

Blue was laughing and she reached out to Gansey. When she had laid down with Henry, she had realized how tired she was from driving the whole day. She had been up since the early morning and it was nearly 8 pm now.

Gansey took her outstretched hands in his as he stepped around her side of the bed. Holding hands with him suddenly made the moment intimate.

“Lay down with us, Richardman” said Henry “We are contemplating all the wonders we have seen in the US and A. All the biggest this and longest thats. This country truly is a cultural marvel.”

Gansey slipped off his shoes because he would never lay down on a bed with them still on, unlike Henry and Blue who hadn't gotten undressed in the slightest before flopping onto the covers. Gansey awkwardly shoved himself on the bed next to Blue. He slipped one arm around her middle and his legs were over hers so they could all fit.

They lay in silence for a moment before Henry said. “Why did we pay for two beds again?”

Blue and Gansey looked over at what was to be their bed and shrugged.

“You lured us into your bed with your charms before we could make it to our own bed, Cheng.” Blue said teasingly and reached up to bop his nose with her finger. Henry wrinkled his nose at her touch and shook his head like a dog getting water out of his fur. It was possible that this looked more endearing than it should have been on a grown man.

They laid back down and Gansey seemed to be getting drowsy. Blue wasn't far off but Henry suddenly jostled the whole bed as he got up.

“Come on then, my dear tourists. Let's check our the local cuisine. And by that I mean let's press random buttons on the snack machine in the lobby and then pig out on whatever we get.”

Blue let herself be pulled up by Henry but Gansey waved them off and curled into Henry's pillow. He mumbled something that might have been a sentence.

Blue looked at Henry and they both shrugged and grabbed the key for their room before they left. Gansey would probably be asleep by the time they got back and wouldn't be able to let them in.

They went downstairs to the lobby and true to his word Henry pressed random buttons while feeding quarters into the machine. They ended up with lifesavers, 2 packets of pretzels, licorice and an assortment of various candy bars.

Blue made a face at the licorice and Henry shrugged. “More for me” he said.

When they headed back upstairs, Gansey seemed to have fallen asleep. After a whispered conversation they decided to let him sleep. He really had seemed exhausted. Probably because the restaurant car game with Henry had gotten so competitive today.

Blue and Henry sat down on the other bed and began sampling the candy bars they had never tried before.

Blue had only ever tried candy bars that the various women at 300 Fox Way bought because she was saving her money and had never really travelled.

Henry insisted that he had had a creepy nutritionist/nanny who had taken over his diet as soon as he was weaned off mother's milk. As such he felt deprived of the wonders of plebeian candy bars and was dead set on rectifying the matter. Or so he had told Blue when she looked at him funny after he purchased twenty almond joys at the first gas station they had stopped at.

They would each take a bite off a bar and then switch to take a bite of the bar the other had chosen. This led to some wild mixes of flavor. Blue couldn't help but think of the time when sharing a yoghurt spoon had been as intimate as she could get with Gansey. There had been something thrilling about the distance they had to keep, but not getting to relieve the tension had been hard. Now that they could touch without worrying about an accidental kiss, Blue craved having Gansey wrapped around her.

She was beginning to feel full and leaned her head on Henry's shoulder. He had taken a bite out of a 3 Musketeers bar and was holding it clamped between his teeth to offer it to her like they were reenacting The Lady and the Tramp.

Blue huffed out a laugh and leaned in. She bit off a huge chunk to make Henry nervous but he just smiled around the tiny piece still in his mouth and swallowed.

“Ew gross!” Blue said. “It's gonna get stuck if you don't chew and then I'll have to give you the Heimlich manoeuvre and I don't even know how!”

Henry had successfully swallowed and couldn't resist saying. “That's what she said!” He was grinning like this joke was extremely clever.

Nevertheless, it made Blue laugh because of the sheer absurdity of the situation. The sound of her laughter woke Gansey up. He groaned and buried his face further in Henry's pillow. Then he stretched and rolled over to see what they were doing.

He looked at Henry smiling and still leaning in close to Blue and Blue grinning up at him. He saw the strewn candy wrappers and laughed.

“How long was I asleep?” he asked teasingly.

“Ages and ages.” Blue replied. “Henry had his wicked way with me on all these candy wrappers. I just can't resist that crinkling sound. It reminds me of all the money we usually sleep on.”

Gansey got up and strolled over. He sat down next to Henry and looked at the wrappers. “Looks like you ate everything that you bought already. I guess I'll have to go get something myself?”

“No way” Blue told him “We saved you the best ones.” She held up the licorice.

Gansey made a face. “I hate licorice.” Blue smiled “So do I. This is why we make a good couple.”

Henry shook his head. “No, no you two make a terrible couple then. One of you has to eat the licorice. If no one in the relationship does, then it all goes to waste.”

Blue pretended to frown. “Why would we buy licorice in the first place then?”

“Don't question my infinite wisdom, Sargent, I am your wise Asian sidekick.” Henry said.

Blue snorted. “As if you could ever just be anyone's sidekick.”

She leaned forward to give Henry a playful eskimo kiss but when she looked into his eyes and their noses touched the situation suddenly felt a lot more charged.

“I...” Henry said at a loss for words. He began to pull back but Gansey grabbed his arm.

Blue was surprised and stared at Gansey.

“Henry” Gansey said. “I've been meaning to say something. And Jane you're free to stop me if you disagree. I was worried that you'd be the third wheel on this trip. But more and more it feels like you're an addition, a puzzle piece that Jane and I need. We have been so focused on becoming a real couple after the curse was broken that we might have missed something.”

Blue couldn't believe what she was hearing. But she had been having similar thoughts so she kept quiet.

Henry looked shell shocked. “I...really? You...and Blue...and me?” For once he seemed at a loss for words. Clearly this meant a lot to him.

Gansey inhaled and continued “I don't want this to be an experiment or a one time thing but we do have to try it out. Three people in a relationship makes things a lot more complicated. Three opinions, three individuals, three preferences. But I have been reading up on it.”

“Woah woah” Blue interrupted. Gansey and Henry turned to look at her. “So the whole time whenever I told you to pull up directions on your phone and you were out of battery you had been researching polyamory?”

Gansey shrugged sheepishly. “Well, research is kind of what I do, Jane.”

Blue thought about it and it did make a surprising amount of sense.

Henry still seemed overwhelmed. Blue gripped his hand. She looked over at Gansey and Gansey took Henry's other hand. They both looked at Henry and could see the wheels turning in his head.

Finally, he seemed to come to a conclusion.

“Okay yes. You caught me. But I just want you to know that I did not propose this trip with the intention of seducing either one of you. That kind of came in later after I started to like you both so much.” He looked down. It was an uncharacteristically shy gesture for him and made him look impossibly sweet.

Blue decided to take action. She could kiss whoever she wanted now, so she went for it. She turned Henry's face to hers by gripping his chin and softly kissed him on the lips. Henry let out a sigh against her lips as they parted as if this was something that he had been waiting for for quite some time.

Blue couldn't help pressing another quick kiss against his lips. They felt soft and her whole body tingled at the contact. It was different from kissing Noah and definitely different from kissing Gansey. But none of those kisses were better than the others. They were just distinct, like the people they belonged to.

Gansey had been watching them and his face was slightly flushed. He didn't look jealous at all, just a little turned on. Blue grinned at him. “Go on then, Richardman”

Gansey sighed. “Please don't gang up on me too often if we decide to do this.” He leaned in and kissed Henry. Watching the two boys kiss was different but Blue liked it. Gansey had his hand in Henry's hair and was angling his head to deepen the kiss. Blue knew how Gansey kissed and she could just imagine how good Henry must feel right about now. Finally the two boys parted. Both were slightly out of breath.

“Well I think now you two should kiss for my viewing pleasure.” Henry said. Obviously he had won back some of his repartee.

Blue mock scoffed. “You've seen us kiss plenty of times on this trip.”

Henry leaned in close so he could whisper in her ear. “But never with the knowledge that I could take over for one of you after you're done.”

Blue shuddered in pleasure. She liked that mental image very much. She moved to sit in Henry's lap so she could reach Gansey better. Henry put an arm around her waist to steady her. Gansey and her leaned in and kissed. When they parted, Gansey only had to slightly turn his head to kiss Henry. Henry's grip on Blue's waist tightened involuntarily as Gansey continued to kiss him. She lightly stroked his arm to get him to ease up.

Henry broke away from the kiss and immediately kissed Blue. Gansey's arm sneaked around her waist atop Henry's and he began lightly rubbing her back.

After a bit they stopped and all looked at each other. Blue's cheeks were flushed and she felt the electricity in the parts of her body that were touching the boys' bodies.

She slowly forced herself to get up from Henry's lap and stretch. She was way too tired for this to go any further today. “That was fun.” She said with a grin that was a tad more confident than she actually felt.

Henry and Gansey nodded. They didn't seem fully present after the kissing.

“Well I'm going for a shower, boys. Don't do anything I wouldn't do. And after that we can try sleeping in the same bed even though we paid for two. Because fuck logic.”

Henry grinned. “I guess we'll just have to stack ourselves on top of each other.”

“I guess so.” Blue replied cheekily. As she closed the bathroom door, she caught a glimpse of Henry and Gansey moving towards each other again. She smiled to herself. This road trip had just gained her an unexpected boyfriend. She couldn't wait to explore that adventure just as throughly as the others.


End file.
